Lee Tung Avenue (The Avenue) has always held itself out to be a dog-friendly, animal-loving establishment. In August 2020, the Management team of Lee Tung Avenue has made a rash decision to ban dogs from using the PUBLIC Open Space (The Garden) of The Avenue (5F which is open to public). I note in particular that it has in the past collaborated with organisations such as HKDR, WWF and Paws Hero - I do not think I need to point out how much of a contradiction this new rule presents). There is also marketing material online branding the garden as a pet-friendly space that ‘welcomes dogs’ and also numerous signs posted at the garden allowing dogs (with a leash). 

We as residents of the Wan Chai District and The Avenue, and can say unequivocally that our decision to move here (and to continue living here) was premised on the development being represented as dog-friendly - this is clearly no longer the case. I am aware that the management’s decision to ban dogs is a result of incessant complaints and pestering by one individual in particular. Whilst I understand that all complaints have to be taken into consideration, I am extremely disappointed by how the management has chosen to handle this particular situation, i.e. completely disregarding the standpoints of an entire group of people to pander to one unreasonable person just to avoid the hassle of having to deal with her.

In my view, there are many options that can be explored before making such a drastic decision, such as designating dog-friendly hours or marking the grass patch as a dog-friendly area (thereby ensuring the dogs stay within a particular space), so that people who dislike dogs can either avoid certain times to visit the garden or avoid certain parts of it. We propose Lee Tung Avenue Management reconsider this very poor decision as I believe the management team can do much better than this.